World News - Audit Finds University of California System Did Not Fully Disclose Executive Compensation

An independent audit into how the University of California system pays its leaders found administrators kept some details of compensation packages from the public and its own governing board. The audit released Monday follows published reports that UC quietly paid millions in bonuses and other benefits beyond executives' publicly reported salaries at a time when student fees were going up due to state funding cuts. The revelations, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, have prompted legislative hearings and a number of investigations. The PricewaterhouseCoopers audit conducted at the request of UC regents looked at compensation over a 10-year period for 32 top management positions. ... http://abcnews.go.com

As Congress takes up emergency funding for the military this week, an unpleasant reality will complicate the debate: The increasingly unpopular war in Iraq is getting more and more expensive.According to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service, the combined costs of war in Iraq and Afghanistan this year will hit $117.9 billion - about $9.8 billion a month - if Congress passes the White House's emergency money request, as is virtually certain.About 80 percent of the cash goes to Iraq, where costs have risen from $48 billion in 2003 to a projected $94 billion this year - for a total of $282 billion, according to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a think tank.The White House is planning to ask for an additional $50 billion next year, and the center predicts if the situation does not improve, the Iraq war could end up costing $660 billion by 2016 - more than the Vietnam War, adjusting for inflation....http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/14414947.htm

"Bird Flu Restricted Area" read the sign in a neighborhood on the outskirts of Islamabad. Shopkeeper Mohammad Afzul wasn't going beyond that point. "I'm scared of virus. I have my small farm with a flock of about 4,000 birds just 15 km (nine miles) from here. The virus might be transmitted to them from me." On Tuesday, Pakistani authorities confirmed that the number of poultry farms infected with the deadly H5N1 virus near the capital had risen to 11, and tests are pending on a handful of others. They were all in Tarlai and Sihala, two neighborhoods where there is a concentration of small farms supplying eggs and meat to Islamabad and adjacent Rawalpindi. "The situation is worrisome. It has just started, it is just developing," said an international consultant, who requested anonymity. So far, no humans are known to have been infected in Pakistan. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1887477

The bodies of 32 Iraqi police and security forces recruits were discovered in two areas of Baghdad yesterday, Interior Ministry sources said. All were from the town of Ramadi, in the insurgent heartland of Anbar province, which is fiercely opposed to the Government, the sources said. A group of 17 found in the Baghdady district were kidnapped then shot dead after they signed up to join the police a week ago. The 15 others were found riddled with bullets in cars in Abu Ghraib, on the western edge of the city. Meanwhile, seven car bombs rocked the city, killing ten people and injuring nearly 80. The attack is being seen as part of an apparent campaign to discredit the country’s new leadership. At least 15 other people were killed in bombings and shootings. The car bombs exploded over five hours in six neighbourhoods far apart, the first going off near the Health Ministry and killing five people. ...http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-2150207,00.html

Gunmen killed a senior judge in Baghdad on Tuesday, Interior Ministry sources said. The sources said judge Ibrahim al-Hindawi was head of the main court responsible for the western Karkh sector of Baghdad. He was gunned down in the insurgent stronghold of Amiriya in the capital.There were no further details....http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060425/ts_nm/iraq_judge_dc

A female suicide bomber disguised to look pregnant blew herself up in front of a car carrying Sri Lanka's highest-ranking general, killing eight people and badly injuring the top officer. Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka suffered serious abdominal injuries, underwent surgery and was in stable condition after the brazen attack on the army's heavily fortified headquarters, military and medical officials said. The army general's driver and escort and 27 people, including a number of civilians, were wounded, spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said. It was not clear if any other top Sri Lankan military officials were hurt, or if the eight killed included the bomber. Police blamed Tamil Tiger insurgents, who often have used women to carry out suicide attacks in their long fight for a separate homeland. "A powerful blast activated by a woman Tamil Tiger suicide bomber claimed the lives of several army and civil personnel," the army said in a statement. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1887462&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312